Wishing you a happy & fireproof festival

From the fire services department to government and private hospitals and nursing homes, arrangements are foolproof to combat emergencies of any form and proportion — be it an inferno or just minor burns.

While special blaze battling strategies have been devised for congested capital neighbourhoods, almost all the 60 heal hubs have opened exclusive burns wards with additional beds for quick relief.

Department sources said around 65-70 firemen would be on Diwali duty to cover the entire length and breadth of the city. Special focus will be on busy Ratu Road and Upper Bazar, where fire tenders will be kept on standby on Tuesday.

“The strategy will cover other congested areas, the exhaustive list of which we will receive later in the evening. However, it will be more or less on the lines of Durga Puja,” said R.K. Thakur, the fire officer at Audrey House.

Sources in the fire department said four big fire tenders — each of 4,500-litre capacity — would be stationed at the police control room in Kutchery as well as Albert Ekka Chowk, Doranda and Dhurwa. Two smaller vehicles, each of 750-litre capacity, will be on standby for congested areas.

Water will be sourced from two deep underground tanks at Doranda fire office and Dhurwa. While the former can store 50,000 litres of water, the latter has half the capacity. “All fire tenders are filled from these tanks on a daily basis,” said an official.

If the fire department is well prepared, healthcare institutions have also pulled up their socks.

Ranchi Sadar Hospital has set aside five beds exclusively for burns victims. District civil surgeon A.K. Choudhary said all nurses had been given training for Diwali.

“We held a workshop on November 9 to train ANMs, nurses, compounders and others on how to deal with burns cases. They have been told to give victims immediate access to cold water. We are fully prepared for any emergency at our level,” he said.

State-owned Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), which already has a 15-bed burns wing, has increased room by 10 beds. “Senior resident doctors and trained nurses will remain alert round the clock at the burns ward. Besides, our Emergency Unit I will be ready with medicines and ointments,” said director Tulsi Mahto.

A senior official at Gurunanak Hospital said doctors had been told not to ignore any phone calls. “You never know when there may be an emergency. Hospital staff will remain alert round the clock. On the ground floor, a burns ward has been set up with half a dozen beds, proper ventilation and medical facilities,” he added.